The Town of Hempstea is one of the three towns (otherwise known as civil townships) in Nassau County, New York, United States. There are twenty-two incorporated villages completely or partially in the town. Hempstead is the most populous town in the state and the nation with a population of 755,924 at the 2000 Census (estimated to be 763,822 in 2006). It is comparable in population to San Francisco or Jacksonville. It is significantly larger and more populous than Boston, Baltimore, or Seattle. It occupies the southwest part of the county. If it were a city, it would be the 14th most populous city in the nation, just above San Francisco, California. In terms, of land area, it would rank number 67th among US cities.